Venezuelan Tension Rises as Workers
Protest Chavez's Economic Reforms

By

Marc Lifsher Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Dec. 10, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Tension rose on the streets here ahead of a national work stoppage planned for Monday to protest leftist President Hugo Chavez's imposition of laws that critics say threaten property rights and stifle investment.

The 12-hour general strike called by a loosely knit coalition of business and labor comes as Mr. Chavez celebrates three years in power. On Friday, about 2,000 antigovernment protesters were turned back...